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“It’s certainly not fancy, but neither am I”: Grant Larseny runs us through his debut LP Dirty Laundry

Some people forget that music can be fun, but Grant Larseny is not one of those people. His debut album Dirty Laundry is bursting at the seams with wit and charm, a folk spectacle detailing life as a middle class Australian bloke – for better or worse.

Wanting to find out a little more about Larseny and how his delightful debut came to be, we reached out for a track-by-track run through. Here’s what he wrote back.

grant larseny dirty laundry
Photo: Kim @ Shoot the Wicked Witch

Drinking on school nights, loving your family, and appreciating the little things: these are down-to-earth principles of Grant Larseny’s debut album Dirty Laundry.

I recorded Dirty Laundry myself in a makeshift studio I’d set up in the front room of my house in the southern suburbs of Perth, during the week between Christmas and New Years in 2017. It’s certainly not fancy, but neither am I – just ten tracks of honest, heartfelt, lower-middle class, folksy-punk fun.

Intro

A simple little instrumental that I’d been trying to turn into something for five or six years. It ended up working really well as a lead-in to That Doesn’t Even Rhyme when I play live, and was a good way to ease into the album with something simple and pretty.

That Doesn’t Even Rhyme

This is a song about staying positive and appreciating the things you have in life, rather than focusing on what you don’t, and not allowing yourself to become jaded by the people you might come across with nothing better to do than complain or bring others down.

You’re Going Home In The Back Of A Divvie Van

A cautionary tale – two true stories about going out drinking on a school night and not being in any state to deal with the consequences the next morning. One from my time living on the Mornington Peninsula in Victoria, and one from a night out in Northbridge in Perth.

Third Time Lucky (Thirty, Broke, and Fucked)

A love song. I wrote it one morning during six weeks of unemployment, after leaving a job with no contingency plan. I was looking back over a series of poor decisions I’d made in my life, with an overwhelming sense of gratitude that I’d found such a supportive partner-in-crime to ride it out with me.

Pretty Good Bloke

I have a wonderful partner, three great kids, a mortgage, and I tend to be a bit of a shut-in. This song is an apology, of sorts, to the people who dedicate themselves to supporting local music in a way that I no longer can, or no longer choose to.

Dad’s House

Following on from Pretty Good Bloke, this is a song about lazy weekends doing nothing, hanging out with my partner and my kids, written from the perspective of my ten year old son.

Uno On The Floor

I’ve never been great at reading signs from women, and sometimes I’d find myself getting a little to serious, a little too quickly when it came to relationships.

Attitude (A Mug Like Me)

When I lost my job, it was probably due to a lack of patience, a decent amount of frustration, and a hint of arrogance. I came to realise I can be a difficult person to deal with, and I’m really glad I’ve found a girl who will put up with me and my many flaws.

Welcome Song

After playing a couple of shows, I wanted to write a song I could open with, to set the tone for the next 20 minutes or so. It’s short and punchy, and a little bit cheeky, and it pretty much sums up exactly what I’m all about.

Christmas In The Summer In The Suburbs

I tried to write a Christmas song in 2016, but realised in December that I’d left it too late to start. When I got asked to play a Christmas benefit show for Punks Against Poverty in 2017, it was the perfect opportunity to pen a song about a hot, dysfunctional, drunken, bogan, Summer Christmas that everyone in the southern-hemisphere could relate to.

 

Grant Larseny launches Dirty Laundry at The Boston in Northbridge tonight. Grab all the details here and suss out a few further dates below.

June 1 – The Boston, Northbridge WA
June 8 – The Den, Inglewood WA
June 9 – The Monkey Bar, Mandurah WA